CBT Automotive Network Podcast

Steve Finlay on How to Make Up For Lost Profits in Your Service Department as Consumers Shift to EVs | High Prices and Concerns Over Tax Refunds Cause Auto Sales to Cool in February | Trump Administration Puts Chinese Tariffs on Hold

Today on CBTNews.com - Tuesday, March 5th, 2019:

How to Make Up For Lost Profits in Your Service Department as Consumers Shift to EVs - Steve Finlay, WardsAuto

When electric vehicles become more popular and mainstream, dealers worry that their fixed-ops departments will be the ones to suffer. With simpler propulsion systems and 40 percent fewer parts, EVs are on track to disrupt the service drive in a big way. On today’s show, we welcome back Steve Finlay, editor at Ward’s Auto Magazine. Steve discusses the pressure EVs will put on the service drive, and what dealers can do about it.

High Prices and Concerns Over Tax Refunds Cause Auto Sales to Cool in February

As the nation goes through yet another winter freeze, the cooling effect seems to have also extended to the auto industry. Overall sales in February dropped 2.8 percent when compared to last year for a final total of 1.26 million. The month’s poor performance makes it more likely that the annualized rate will hover around 16.6 million instead of 17 million, the worst reading in 18 months. February could be the start of an automotive sales slowdown for 2019. What factors led to the slump, and how might they have long-lasting effects on the rest of this year? Take a look at our takeaways from February’s 2019 auto sales.

Trump Administration Puts Chinese Tariffs on Hold

Back in September of 2018, Paul A. Eisenstein of NBC News reported that U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to implement tariffs automobiles and auto parts imported from China would potentially cause the loss of over 700,000 jobs as well as a significant drop in car sales and a massive blow to the country’s GDP. This week, however, the Trump administration has decided to hold off on upping tariffs, which has many people breathing a sigh of relief.

Week In Review: How Your Sales Department Can Dramatically Increase Closing Percentages | How to Revitalize Your Dealership's Culture to Attract More Female Customers | 4 Customer Experience Strategies to Increase Consumer Loyalty

CBT News Week In Review for Friday, March 1st, 2019:

How Your Sales Department Can Dramatically Increase Closing Percentages - Brian Finnegan, Advanced Dealer Concepts

Dealers spend a lot of money on getting customers to call, click on, or come into the dealership, but once they get to the showroom floor, the salesperson falls flat. We recently caught up with Brian Finnegan, to find out why. Brian is the owner of Advanced Dealer Concepts and we discussed what sales trainers should be focusing on in the dealership today, to have a more profitable tomorrow.

How to Revitalize Your Dealership's Culture to Attract More Female Customers - Jody DeVere, AskPatty.com

In today’s market, women account for 65 percent of all new car, and 53 percent of all used car purchases. Which means, no matter how you look at it, women have incredible buying power and influence on the car industry. Jim Fitzpatrick recently spoke to Jody DeVere, CEO of askpatty.com, and discussed how dealerships can revitalize their brand and culture to attract more female customers.

Increase Consumer Loyalty at Your Dealership with These 4 Customer Experience Strategies - Joseph Michelli, NYT Best-Selling Author

On today’s show, we welcome back Joseph Michelli, customer service expert and New York Times best-selling author, to discuss how your dealership can develop a worthwhile customer service strategy.

How to Build a Successful Service BDC Model and Increase Sales - Sarah Vantine, Scott Clark Auto Group

With almost all car shopping done in the virtual space, dealers are seeing an increased value in their BDC. With this success, it looks like more and more dealerships are looking to bring the same BDC model over to the service department for even larger growth. Joining Jim Fitzpatrick on CBT News today is Sarah Vantine, Fixed Operations BDC Director for Scott Clark Auto Group out of Charlotte, NC. Sarah has built their service BDC from scratch, and her team has produced a 15 percent increase across three dealerships.

4 Customer Experience Strategies to Increase Consumer Loyalty at your Dealership - Joseph Michelli | Make Your Business Last by Preventing Family Squabbles | Improving Your Sales-to-Service Handoff

Today on CBTNews.com - Wednesday, February 27th, 2019:

Increase Consumer Loyalty at Your Dealership with These 4 Customer Experience Strategies - Joseph Michelli, NYT Best-Selling Author

On today’s show, we welcome back Joseph Michelli, customer service expert and New York Times best-selling author, to discuss how your dealership can develop a worthwhile customer service strategy.

Make Your Business Last by Preventing Family Squabbles

Businesses that last share common traits.  For example, they have written ownership agreements with key terms; they are structured to prevent conflicts and disputes between co-owners; and they have planned for timely succession to manage next generation expectations and prevent frustration. Absence of these key fundamentals will likely cause lack of alignment between owners preventing financially sound companies from lasting.

Improving Your Sales-to-Service Handoff

Sales and service have their own distinct roles in any dealership. In an ideal world, sales exists to attract and new customers and to sell cars. Service exists to keep those customers coming back and turn them into loyal, lifelong customers. With this in mind, it is important to take a look at how well do sales and service departments work together. Do they work well together? At the end of the day, the success of one department is inextricably tied to the success of the other.

On today’s show, we welcome back Joseph Michelli, customer service expert and New York Times best-selling author, to discuss how your dealership can develop a worthwhile customer service strategy.

How to Revitalize Your Dealership's Culture to Attract More Female Customers | Are You Prepared for the Approaching Service Technician Shortage? | Consumer Reports 2019 Vehicle Recommendations

Today on CBTNews.com - Tuesday, February 26th, 2019:

How to Revitalize Your Dealership's Culture to Attract More Female Customers - Jody DeVere, AskPatty.com

In today’s market, women account for 65 percent of all new car, and 53 percent of all used car purchases. Which means, no matter how you look at it, women have incredible buying power and influence on the car industry. Jim Fitzpatrick recently spoke to Jody DeVere, CEO of askpatty.com, and discussed how dealerships can revitalize their brand and culture to attract more female customers.

Are You Prepared for the Approaching Service Technician Shortage?

The automotive industry is running toward a problematic shortage. According to information from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, by 2026, the automotive repair industry will need 46,000 more service technicians to meet demand. Currently, the retirement of the last generation of service technicians has left vacancies of 75,000 job openings in any given year. While many have noticed this trend, one automotive group is looking to turn the tide.

Consumer Reports 2019 Vehicle Recommendations

Consumer Reports (CR) has released its 2019 list of recommended vehicles, and Subaru has come out on top. The determination for the annual list is made after testing numerous features of vehicles including acceleration, safety, off-road ability, comfort, space, emissions, and so on. Genesis, Porsche, Audi, and Lexus also made the top five, whereas Fiat, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mitsubishi, and Jeep were among the last five.

In today’s market, women account for 65 percent of all new car, and 53 percent of all used car purchases. Which means, no matter how you look at it, women have incredible buying power and influence on the car industry. Jim Fitzpatrick recently spoke to Jody DeVere, CEO of askpatty.com, and discussed how dealerships can revitalize their brand and culture to attract more female customers.

How Your Sales Department Can Dramatically Increase Closing Percentages - Brian Finnegan | Dealing with the Technician Drought | What Dealers Can Do as Auto Loan Delinquencies Rise

Today on CBTNews.com - Monday, February 25th, 2019:

How Your Sales Department Can Dramatically Increase Closing Percentages - Brian Finnegan, Advanced Dealer Concepts

Dealers spend a lot of money on getting customers to call, click on, or come into the dealership, but once they get to the showroom floor, the salesperson falls flat. We recently caught up with Brian Finnegan, to find out why. Brian is the owner of Advanced Dealer Concepts and we discussed what sales trainers should be focusing on in the dealership today, to have a more profitable tomorrow.

Dealing with the Technician Drought

There is a “Technician Drought” that has been plaguing the car industry for decades, pretty severely for the past 5 years or so. Finding and keeping excellent quality techs has been as elusive as a rainstorm in the middle of the desert. Like a real drought, this ailment causes the rationing of your most precious resources; the people who actually produce the work you charge your customers for! As a result, productivity, profitability, retail growth, customer and employee satisfaction categorically suffer.

What Dealers Can Do as Auto Loan Delinquencies Rise

Last week the Federal Reserve Bank of New York revealed that auto loan delinquencies rose significantly in the past year. According to their data, while the overall rates remain well below the historic heights of 2010 delinquencies, in 2018 over 7 million Americans were at least ninety days late on their payments. 7 million is 1 million borrowers more than in 2010, showing that, though the rates are not necessarily high enough for immediate panic, the subject should be taken seriously.

Dealers spend a lot of money on getting customers to call, click on, or come into the dealership, but once they get to the showroom floor, the salesperson falls flat. We recently caught up with Brian Finnegan, to find out why. Brian is the owner of Advanced Dealer Concepts and we discussed what sales trainers should be focusing on in the dealership today, to have a more profitable tomorrow.

Week In Review: Brian Benstock on What it Takes to Drive an Award-Winning Dealership | How Dealerships Can Enhance Work-Life Balance and Attract More Females to the Industry

CBT News Week In Review for Friday, February 22nd, 2019:

Incorporating Your CRM with Your Phone Process to Capitalize on Leads - Mike Haeg

Every dealer knows it costs hundreds of dollars just to make the phone ring, but integrating a CRM to your sales calls can help your dealerships capitalize on those selling opportunities in a more efficient way. Joining CBT's Jim Fitzpatrick is Mike Haeg, Vice President of Automotive at Car Wars, to discuss polishing up your CRM etiquette.

Combating Rising Interest Rates, Managing Vehicle Inventory, and Reducing Your Margin Compression - Brian Finkelmeyer, vAuto

Every dealer knows that as your vehicle assets depreciate, your profit margins begin to shrink. The two major causes of inventory depreciation? Age and holding costs. Joining Jim today is Brian Finkelmeyer, senior director of conquest at vAuto. Brian lends us his insight into combating rising interest rates, managing new vehicle inventory, and dealing with margin compression.

Brian Benstock on What it Takes to Drive an Award-Winning Dealership

Coming off of a record-breaking 2018, Paragon Automotive became the highest volume dealer to take home the Precision Team Award for Acura and the President's Award Elite for Honda. We recently spoke with Brian Benstock, partner GM and vice president of Paragon Honda and Paragon Acura who walked us through their unparalleled success.

How Dealerships Can Enhance Work-Life Balance and Attract More Females to the Industry - Lisa Copeland, Cars Her Way

Lisa Copeland, CEO of Cars Her Way, recently joined us in-studio and discussed trends in retail automotive, enhancing work-life balance, and how dealerships can attract more female employees to the industry.

How Dealerships Can Enhance Work-Life Balance and Attract More Females to the Industry - Lisa Copeland | The Growing Impact of the “Connected Car” | How to Evaluate Expenses in Each Department

Today on CBTNews.com - Thursday, February 21st, 2019:

How Dealerships Can Enhance Work-Life Balance and Attract More Females to the Industry - Lisa Copeland, Cars Her Way

Lisa Copeland, CEO of Cars Her Way, recently joined us in-studio and discussed trends in retail automotive, enhancing work-life balance, and how dealerships can attract more female employees to the industry.

The Growing Impact of the “Connected Car,”: Four Ways This Can Affect Your Dealership

The world of telematics is gradually expanding. Consumers will have the opportunity to take advantage of safety and entertainment features that were barely thought of less than ten years ago. However, consumers are not the only individuals set to benefit. Dealers can utilize emerging telematics technologies to differentiate their approach to marketing, sales, and overall operations.

How to Evaluate Expenses in Each Department

Expense management is an ongoing process. Focus on a few areas at a time. Turn over rocks and make new discoveries. A little extra ad spend here, overtime there, a few extra pens and envelopes. They may not seem like much by themselves, but as you make a concerted effort to streamline expenses, it will result in better ROI and greater profits. Tightening the reigns can be painful at times, but it all adds up in the end.